by Andrea Davis Pinkney is a novel-in-verse for ages ~9-14. 12 year-old Amira bright lives in a village in Sudan when it is attacked. Her father is killed and the village shattered. Amira grieves for her father as her family seeks shelter in a refugee camp. A refugee worker gives Amira a red pencil and her world brightens a little and offers hope. The sketched drawings help add to the story as we feel Amira’s pain and loss. Her old-fashioned mother does not believe girls need to be educated though Amira has bigger dreams. Beautifully told in spare language, Amira slowly is brought back to life from her grief. Many Common Core classes teach Park’s “Long Walk to Water” which could be a possible pairing or increase demand.
